Jasper鈥檚 caribou are a rubber stamp away from being listed as endangered.
The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) released its latest assessment last week, increasing the status of both the Central Mountain Caribou and Southern Mountain Caribou from threatened to endangered. It is now up to Minister of Environment Leona Aglukkaq to accept the committee鈥檚 advice, adding these caribou to the endangered species list, or to deny it and provide reasons for doing so.
Jasper鈥檚 caribou fall within the Central Mountain unit, which is considered the most dire, having lost 60 per cent of its population in the last 10 years. Included in that loss is the complete eradication of caribou in Banff National Park, which lost its last five in an avalanche in 2005.
It also includes the dwindling of Jasper鈥檚 herds, all of which have seen significant losses. The Malgine herd is down to five animals, the Brazeau six and the Tonquin 30, said Justina Ray, executive director of Wildlife Conservation Society Canada and a member of COSEWIC.
These most recent numbers are down from the ones reported last November, when the Brazeau was at eight and the Tonquin at 37. The Maligne has remained the same.
鈥淸In Jasper] the current population is 41; there used to be 138 in 2002,鈥� said Ray, noting that all of her numbers are from Jasper National Park (JNP) staff. 鈥淪o caribou have lost ground in the Jasper area.鈥�
The Central Mountain caribou, which live in the Rocky Mountains in both Alberta and B.C., were determined to be endangered on two grounds鈥攖he first being the drastic decrease in population over a short period of time, and the second being the fact that the population size itself is dangerously low.
This is significant because the smaller the population, the easier it is to wipe out the entire herd in one fell swoop鈥攁s was seen with the avalanche in Banff nine years ago.
From here, Ray said there is no quick fix that will bring Central Mountain Caribou populations back to a sustainable level.
鈥淭hese caribou in particular are in very, very bad shape, so it would require a combination of intensive management and restraint on our land use activities.
鈥淪o much damage has been done already in these areas that protection alone won鈥檛 bring these caribou back from the brink, it will also require some intensive management, which could be a combination of very aggressive habitat restoration, plus predator control, and potentially control of other prey, like moose and deer and elk.鈥�
Central Mountain Caribou have been listed as a threatened species since 2003, when the Species at Risk Act was first brought into force. Despite that warning, the situation has only grown worse for these animals because of changes in predator/prey dynamics, increased human disturbance, habitat loss, predator access and the small population effect鈥攖he tendency for small caribou populations to continue declining.
Parks has, in recent years, done some work in an attempt to combat the rapid population decline in Jasper National Park. For instance, for the first time last winter, it enforced delayed openings in certain areas of the park to keep wolves away from the threatened animals.
And in 2011, it developed the Conservation Strategy for Southern Mountain Caribou in Canada鈥檚 National Parks鈥攁 strategy that now guides conservation and recovery actions in Jasper, Banff, Mount Revelstoke and Glacier national parks.
The agency has also worked in collaboration with Environment Canada to develop the 鈥淧roposed Recovery Strategy for Woodland Caribou, Southern Mountain Population, in Canada (2014).鈥� In the future, that strategy will be implemented in JNP.
Despite these strategies and conservation efforts, the population continues to decline, causing concern for COSEWIC and local environmentalists.
Jill Seaton of the Jasper Environmental Association can recall her first year as a member of the association. That was back in 1992, when the hot topic of the day was demanding Parks protect the caribou in two conservation areas: the Maligne and Tonquin valleys.
鈥淎nd absolutely nothing was done about it,鈥� she recalls.
鈥淣othing鈥檚 been done, and it wasn鈥檛 just the JEA that saw this; the wardens were warning the park that the caribou were going down 40 years ago and then the Canadian Wildlife Service got into it and they said 鈥榶es, the caribou are in real trouble there.鈥� So that鈥檚 why the JEA requested these two conservation areas be put in.鈥�
With 22 years passing since then, and continued fights to close Maligne Lake Road in the winter and pieces of the park to protect the caribou, the news provides both frustration and relief for Seaton.
She said she is angered by the lack of response, but she is also heartened that, with the increased status, there is potential for action.
鈥淚t is terribly sad to see an animal in this state, but I鈥檓 glad that it鈥檚 been classified as [endangered] now because I think it gives us more leverage. When you鈥檙e dealing with an endangered species, the next step is extinction. I鈥檓 glad that they鈥檝e come out and said this is what it is now鈥攍ike it or leave it.鈥�
Jasper National Park鈥檚 next step in its conservation efforts is to implement the captive breeding program it鈥檚 undertaking with the Calgary Zoo. The program鈥檚 goal is to increase the size of Jasper鈥檚 critically small herds and to eventually reintroduce caribou back into Banff National Park.
This would be done by bringing caribou from healthy populations in British Columbia to a captive breeding facility away from the main zoo grounds.
Young caribou born at the facility would then be added to the struggling herds in Jasper, at a rate of about 15 animals per year.
Parks denied the 51暗网鈥檚 request for an interview to discuss this program, as well as JNP鈥檚 future efforts to protect the park鈥檚 caribou, and instead sent an email outlining its role in caribou conservation and the actions it is currently taking.
According to the email, Parks is currently discussing the captive breeding program with regional and provincial partners.
When the 51暗网 last reported on it in February, the program hinged on Parks鈥� ability to secure funding.
In the meantime, it will be a long road before Central Mountain Caribou are removed from the endangered species list.
According to Ray, in order to move up the ladder, back to being threatened, the overall population would have to increase by about 1,500 animals. That would bring the total population of Central Mountain Caribou up to 2,000.
聽Nicole Veerman
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